1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to devices and methods directed to determining tire life cycle cost.
2. Description of Related Art
Tires can impose costs at purchase and over the useful life of the tire, such as in the trucking industry, for example. In fact, tire manufacturers can provide customers with list prices for various brands and models appropriate for particular applications desired by the trucking industry consumer. Such pricing information can be helpful to prospective customers for deciding which brand and model to purchase for their trucking fleets.
Tires are sold for particular tire categories, depending on, for example, customer-anticipated load, road conditions, and expected use. Customers can compare the list price between brands for particular tire categories based on their projected requirements. However, list price provides an incomplete measure of a consumer's total cost over the period of the tire's use. Tires having similar size and load-bearing characteristics may, due to differences in quality or design, experience differing wear rates or other factors that influence useful duration before replacement becomes necessary. Such information is typically unavailable to retail outlets or customers in any convenient form.